The Surfer
Michael Atherton dissects Chaminda Vaas's mediocre record in England .
It is an anomaly that can be explained partly by the fact that he has not played that much cricket in this country, partly by the absence of the Kookaburra ball, which bowlers use everywhere bar England and India, and partly because bowling in sub-continental conditions has made him far more expert with the old ball than the new. Interestingly, Vaas's record in India, where they use the SG ball which is the closest in design to the English Duke, is also poor.
Tom Moody tells Vic Marks about his hectic life at the helm of an international cricket team as the first Test at Lord's approaches.
The pitch at Newlands was a victim of modern society - an ever-increasing desire for instant gratification; in a cricketing sense, an increasing desire for fast-paced play; and in a test-cricket sense, an increasing need for a result
The pitch at Newlands was a victim of modern society - an ever-increasing desire for instant gratification; in a cricketing sense, an increasing desire for fast-paced play; and in a test-cricket sense, an increasing need for a result. ... One of the great nuances of test cricket is that a win is something of such reasonable rarity that it is undeniably an occasion for celebration. It should take days of hard toil, or be due to a performance of exceptional quality and be accompanied by a feeling of real accomplishment. There is nothing wrong with a draw if both teams have played so well or so poorly as to arrive at stalemate.
After helping England to bring back the Ashes last summer, critics Down Under are questioning whether Troy Cooley is 'Australian enough' to coach the national team
Richie Benaud tells Will Swanton what his 10 favourite moments in the history of the Ashes have been
Members of the Indian cricket communities around the cricketing world continue to press ahead , writes Peter Roebuck in the Witness .
Is Andrew Flintoff the right man to lead England
Many will feel that Flintoff is the automatic choice, but the decision of who should lead England against Sri Lanka is far from straightforward. Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, continues to air concerns over the workload placed on his most important player, and the first thing he, David Graveney and Geoff Miller need to assess is how much longer Vaughan is likely to be out.
"On present form would be hard not to rate him alongside Glenn Turner and Crowe as one of New Zealand's best three batsmen of the modern era